The present invention relates in general to key locks, and more particularly to key locks for safe deposit boxes and the like, wherein both a guard key and a renter's key having a proper configuration on the key bit must be inserted into the lock and rotated to effect retraction of the bolt.
It will be appreciated that safe deposit boxes in bank vaults and similar security installations are successively leased to different parties, to whom the lessor furnishes a renter's key adapted to open a given safe deposit box when the lock is partially operated or armed by a guard key in the possession of the lessor. Often, lessees fail to return the renter's key at the expiration of their lease, or the lessee may lose the renter's key, and it becomes necessary in such cases to change the safe deposit key lock so that it can be operated by a renter's key bit having a different configuration. Also, even if the lessee returns the renter's key at the expiration of his lease, it is desirable to change the key bit configuration to which the lock is responsive whenever the lessee of the box is changed, to prevent the otherwise possible use of an unauthorized duplicate of the renter's key which may have been made before the renter's key was returned.
For this reason, certain safe deposit box locks have been made in such a manner that the position of the gatings in the tumblers operated by the renter's key is changeable, so that the position of the gatings may be adjustably set to be opened by a different renter's key. The typical practice in this regard has been to provide a change key in the form of a non-round cross-section rod which is insertable into an opening in the safe deposit lock case or rear cover wall and through shaped openings in the renter's key tumblers, when the safe deposit lock has been activated by the old renter's key. The combination change key interfits into shaped openings in one of two pivoted companion tumbler sectors for each of the renter's key tumbler levers, all of which tumbler lever sectors are pivoted on a fixed tumbler post, to decouple the normally mated tumbler lever sectors of each of these tumbler levers and permit them to be recoupled in a position corresponding to the configuration of the bit of a new renter's key.
It has become recognized that it is also desirable to provide for resetting of the guard key tumbler lever system in accordance with different guard key configurations, so that the guard key to be used with safe deposit locks can be changed from time to time to provide greater security or to reset the locks when the guard key is lost or when change of guard personnel occurs. Attempts to provide for changing of the lock to accommodate to different guard keys as well as different renter keys have generally involved use of renter's key tumbler levers which are each made up of two pivoted companion tumbler sectors which may be selectively decoupled when the lock is in a change mode to permit relative adjustment of one of the tumbler sectors with respect to the other to accommodate to the configuration of the bit of the new renter's key, and also using an entirely different set of guard key tumbler levers disposed in a portion of the lock housing spaced from the renter's key tumbler levers and a plurality of independently adjustable fence members positioned relative to the guard key tumblers capable of being set to different positions in accordance with different guard key configurations. Such a construction requires a considerably larger space consuming lock configuration and considerably increases complications and expense in the assembly of safe deposit lock units.
An object of the present invention is the provision of a novel construction of a tumbler lever lock for safe deposit boxes and the like, having a first group of tumbler levers to be set by a guard key, and a second group of tumbler levers to be set by a renter's key, disposed in alternating side by side relation in the lock housing, together with gate members movable with a bolt and setable to different positions relative to the tumbler levers in accordance with different renter's key and guard key configurations, wherein the renter's key and guard key tumbler levers normally occupy interfering positions relative to the gate members to permit movement of the bolt and gate members until the tumbler levers are set by the proper keys.
Another object of the present invention is the provision of a novel key lock of the tumbler lever types for safe deposit boxes and the like, having a plurality of renter's key operated tumbler levers and guard key operated tumbler levers each having a body section movable arcuately by the appropriate key and each having associated therewith a gating section movable with the bolt, which sections may be selectively decoupled to place the lock in a combination change mode for adjustment to the configuration of different renter's keys and guard keys.
Other objects, advantages and capabilities of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention.